This invention relates to an electrophotographic photosensitive material which may repeatedly be used.
In electrophotography, there are well known a method wherein an electrostatic latent image is formed on a photosensitive layer and is then developed by a developer to form a toner image and the thus formed toner image is fixed on the photosensitive layer, and a method wherein, after the formation of a toner image on a photosensitive layer, the toner image is transferred to a transferring material and is then fixed on a final support. The latter method in which toner image is transferred has two kinds of photosensitive materials being generally and widely employed, one using a vacuum evaporation film of selenium as a photosensitive layer and the other using a photosensitive layer wherein photoconductive powder such as zinc oxide or cadmium sulfide is dispersed in a binder of a polymeric material with high insulating property. (The latter will be hereinlater referred to as a bindery-type electrophotographic photosensitive material) In recent years, the binder-type photosensitive material has been widely used in electrophotography of the type in which toner image is repeatedly transferred at every cycle of reproducing operations instead of selenium photosensitive material.
In general, binder resins which are employed in the photosensitive layer of the binder-type photosensitive element are thermoplastic resins which are relatively low in mechanical strengths, so that the surface of the photosensitive layer is impaired and damaged to a considerable extent when repeatedly rubbed with a developing brush, a cleaner brush and a transfer sheet and is therefore soiled with a toner, quality of reproduced images being thus lowered.
In order to overcome this, thermosetting resins with relatively high mechanical strength are employed as a binder resin instead of thermoplastic resins. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2966/1973 describes a method for forming a binder-type photosensitive layer by using photoconductive zinc oxide or titanium dioxide and a thermosetting isocyanate-alkyd resin. However, such thermosetting resins have such a shortcoming that when they are used for forming a binder-type photosensitive layer alone, the surface of the photosensitive layer is apt to be cracked while it is excellent in hardness. As a result, similarly to a photosensitive layer using thermoplastic resins, the surface of the photosensitive layer is readily turned rough during duplication operations, so that a toner is readily sticked to and soils the surface of the photosensitive layer, thus lowering photosensitivity, quality of reproduced image and durability of the photosensitive layer. Further, when binder resins are repeatedly subjected to corona discharge and exposed to light, they are partially decomposed by the action of, for example, ozone to form therein hydrophilic groups such as a hydroxyl group, a carboxyl group, etc. As a consequence, the photosensitive layer is lowered in electric resistance and is hard to be charged, showing a phenomenon of fatigue.
Further, there has been proposed a method for forming a teflon or polyfluoroethylene resin layer on the outer surface of a binder-type photosensitive layer for the purpose of covering and protecting the surface of the photosensitive layer. This method is useful in improving resistance to mechanical abrasion against the surface of the photosensitive layer. However, the method is disadvantageous in that, upon formation of an electrostatic latent image by charging and exposing to light the surface of the photosensitive layer, the residual electric charge in areas where exposed is increased, with the result that development of such electrostatic latent image with a developer produces a considerable fog.